Wooden shoes



- April 21, 70 Q; G. @155 3,501,051

WOODEN SHOES I 2 She ets-She et 1 Filed June 14. 1968' 0. c;. OLSSON April 21, 1970 I WOODEN snobs 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14-. 1968 moi United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoe comprises a wooden sole and an upper leather mounted thereon. The wooden sole has a joint at the position thereof which corresponds to the ball of the foot, while a bellows element is inserted in the upper leather above said joint of the wooden sole.

This invention relates to a shoe having a wooden sole, an upper leather mounted thereon, and a joint in the wooden sole at least at the portion thereof which corresponds to the ball of the foot. Characteristic of the shoe according to the invention is that a bellows element is inserted in the upper leather above the joint of the wooden sole at the ball of the foot. The shoe thus combines in itself the advantages of the street shoe at walking and the advantages of the steady wooden shoe at standing.

For better elucidation, the invention will be described more fully in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating two embodiments, chosen by way of example, of the wooden shoe according to the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows the shoe in the first embodiment thereof, as seen from the outer side with the sole in normal position;

FIGURE 2 shows the shoe in. the second embodiment thereof, as seen from the inner side with the sole bent at the joint.

The shoe comprises the wooden sole 1 and the upper leather 2 which is provided with a strap 3.

The wooden sole 1 comprises two hinged-together parts 4 and 5, the hinge joint being situated in connection with that portion of the sole which corresponds to the ball of the foot. More precisely, the joint is situated directly rearwardly of the ball of the foot where the foot is bent at walking.

The two wooden parts 4 and 5 of the sole 1 are interconnected at the joint by means of a plate 6 of leather or similar resilient material, such as synthetic plastics. The plate 6 is fitted into the upper faces of the parts 4 and 5 so as to be coplanar with said faces.

The two wooden parts 4 and 5 are separated at the joint by a substantially V-shaped groove 7 which has the apex turned upwardly toward the plate 6. Glued to the under- 3,507,057 Patented Apr. 21, 1970 side of the wooden sole 1 is an outsole of rubber 8. The outsole is made in one piece and thus follows the sides of the V-shaped groove 7 whereby it reinforces the joint at the transition between the parts 4 and 5. At the end lying in the V-shaped groove 7 the rubber outsole 8 is connected to the plate 6.

In accordance with the invention, a bellows element 9 of thin leather is sewn into the stiff upper leather 2 above the joint of the wooden sole at the ball of the foot. The joint of the wooden sole 1 combined with the flexible bellows element 9 in the upper leather 2 thus makes the wooden shoe equally adaptive to the foot as a street shoe.

The strap 3 is pivotally connected to the upper leather 2. In the swung position shown in FIGURE 1 the strap 3 forms a stiffener for the shoe when the shoe is used as a street shoe. In the swung position shown in FIGURE 2 the strap forms a supporting instep strap when the shoe is used as a wooden shoe without any stiffener. The pivotally mounted strap 3 thus makes the shoe convertible by simple means from a street shoe to a Wooden shoe.

While two embodiments of the invention have been described above and illustrated in the drawings those skilled in the art will readily understand that the invention can be modified in many ways.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe comprising a wooden sole, an upper leather mounted thereon, a joint in said wooden sole at least at that portion thereof which corresponds to the ball of the foot, and a bellows element inserted in the upper leather above said joint whereby resistance of said upper leather to bending of the sole at said joint is precluded.

2. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein said sole comprises two elements interconnected at said joint by means of a resilient plate like element.

3. The shoe according the claim 1, wherein a strap pivotally connected to said upper leather forms a stiifener for said shoe when same is used as a street shoe and forms a supporting instep strap when said shoe is used as a wooden shoe without said stiffener.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 90,900 1/ 1869 Webster 362.5 1,617,706 2/1927 Flewitt 36-51 FOREIGN PATENTS 656,192 4/ 1929 France. 313,639 7/1919 Germany. 316,530 11/1919 Germany.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

